Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Hi.
They were maybe seventy-five, eighty feet away from each other, but once they locked eyes, the whole world could disappear, for all Gray cared. It didn’t exist right now.
Ryan said something, but Darius wasn’t listening. Instead, he started walking toward Gray, who felt his feet move too.
Seconds later, they met in the middle, and Gray just smiled up at his man.
Darius lifted a hand and touched Gray’s cheek.
“Can we get the photographer over here?” Abel yelled. “He’s kinda missing this!”
Gray and Darius cracked a grin and met in a chaste kiss.
“Fucking stunning,” Darius murmured.
“You too.” Gray kissed him again, then grabbed his hand. “I hear we have about seventy-five of our closest friends and family waiting for us. You wanna get married?”
Darius turned pensive, then shrugged. “I don’t have anything better to do, so we might as well.”
It was a date.
They began heading to the pier together, hand in hand, turning heads as they went.
“Looking good, boy.”
Gray glanced over his shoulder to Ryan. “You too, Sir.”
“Ah—” Ryan clutched his heart and grinned. “Best gift you coulda given me.”
Darius chuckled. “You just made his day.”
Gray smiled. “He deserves it. I’ll try not to play favorites with my brothers-in-law, but…”
Ryan was his favorite.
“How’s your arm, by the way?” he asked.
“Still attached,” Ryan confirmed.
Gray rolled his eyes and chuckled, and he faced forward again as they got closer to the pier.
This was it. As the people around them morphed into the dressed-up variety with familiar faces, Gray tightened his hold on Darius’s hand and returned as many smiles as he could to the guests who spotted them.
They were in the process of walking out onto the pier, so Gray and his little team slowed down. And that was when he paid attention to all the changes. Darius had rented an actual red carpet, only it was a muted shade of dark green rather than red. It trailed along the center of the pier all the way out to where they’d exchange their vows.
Flower arrangements were attached to the railings on both sides, white roses, baby’s breath, and the greenery of Westslope. And all the way over at the end, where the pier expanded into a square platform, their officiant waited under a wooden archway-type thing. Darius had built it. Gray didn’t even need to ask. He just knew. And it wouldn’t surprise him if Casey had helped, since he was a landscape architect. It was fucking beautiful, covered in vines and tiny string lights.
“What do you think?” Darius murmured.
“It’s perfect. It’s…” He shook his head, at a loss for words. “So perfect.”
When they’d picked the pier, it’d been out of convenience. It was close to the restaurant, and it was a beautiful place. But now, Christ, the pier would suddenly be one of Gray’s favorite spots in town.
Avery gave Gray’s shoulder a squeeze. “We’ll see you out there.”
Gray’s stomach tightened.
“Music’s set to begin in…” Ryan was checking his watch. “Forty seconds.”
There would be music too?
Gray eyed the pier, and it took him a few seconds to see the speakers zip-tied to the railing. Several of them.
Behind them, Mom ran up, much to Gray’s surprise, and she was out of breath. She should be at the end of the pier already.
“You look so handsome, both of you. Gah—don’t mind me, just had to get Cassidy’s pacifier.” She squeezed Gray’s hand and beamed at them. “See you soon, sweetie. So beautiful.”
Gray grinned and managed to shake some of the nerves.
Marrying Darius wasn’t the beginning of something new. It was just the next chapter in a story they’d started writing three years ago. And that felt reassuring. They had trust, they had commitment, they had a family.
Also, Darius wouldn’t hold it against him if Gray fumbled with his vows.
He’d read an online article on different approaches to writing vows, based on personality type and human behavior, and he’d found the type that fit him. The one where you prepared an opening speech, just a paragraph or two, that triggered memories to lead the way. So that’s what Gray had done. He had a few sentences, and then he banked on memories to inspire the rest.
Even though he’d been expecting it, it came as a shock when the gentle notes of a very specific song started playing. He whipped his head to stare up at Darius, who smirked softly.
“I’m good at finding things,” he said quietly.
Gray let out a breathy laugh. Yeah, I’ll say. Darius had kept an eye on Gray’s Spotify.
He knew Gray loved this song. “Electricity” by Drew and Ellie Holcomb had played on repeat on many porch nights. Gray had even gotten to dance with Darius to this song.
Now they’d walk down the aisle to it.
Darius squeezed Gray’s hand before taking the first steps onto the pier, and Gray followed.
It didn’t take long before they reached the rows of guests.